Ikaria® Names Chief Science Officer

Clinton, N.J., July 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Ikaria, Inc. today announced that Martin Meglasson, Ph.D., will join Ikaria as Chief Science Officer.  Dr. Meglasson will be responsible for activities related to early-stage drug development.  He will assume his new role at the end of July.

"We are delighted to welcome Martin, who will help drive our early-stage assets forward by leveraging his experience and knowledge," commented Douglas Greene, M.D., Executive Vice President of Research and Development at Ikaria.  "We believe Martin can help us achieve our vision of becoming a leader in critical care by driving the development of our two early-stage product candidates, IK-1001 and the IK-600X portfolio.  He will also play a significant role as we expand and develop our portfolio of critical care products."

Dr. Meglasson, who has over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, joins Ikaria from Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, where he is Vice President of Discovery Research.  Prior to his tenure at Ligand, he held several leadership positions at Pharmacia Inc. and its predecessor companies, Pharmacia & Upjohn and The Upjohn Company.  Dr. Meglasson has participated in the discovery and development of two marketed drugs, and is an inventor of 18 U.S. patents.  

About Ikaria, Inc.

Ikaria, Inc. is a biotherapeutics company focused on developing and commercializing innovative therapeutics and interventions designed to address the significant unmet needs of critically ill patients. The company's lead product is INOtherapy®, an all-inclusive offering of drug product, services and technologies. INOMAX® (nitric oxide) for inhalation, the drug included in the INOtherapy offering, is the only FDA-approved drug for the treatment of hypoxic respiratory failure associated with pulmonary hypertension in term and near-term infants.  INOtherapy also is marketed in Puerto Rico, Canada, Australia, Mexico and Japan. Ikaria acquired the North American and Australian rights to LUCASSIN® (terlipressin), a potential treatment for hepatorenal syndrome Type 1, as well as the exclusive worldwide license to IK-5001, a potential treatment for preventing cardiac remodeling and subsequent congestive heart failure following acute myocardial infarction. The company also has a number of investigational compounds in development. Ikaria is headquartered in Clinton, NJ, with research facilities in Seattle, WA and Madison, WI, and a manufacturing facility in Port Allen, LA. Please visit www.ikaria.com.

SOURCE Ikaria, Inc.